Interview Scott & Maria

Continuing our series of interviews with unsigned and independent acts, we had the chance to submit questions to Scott & Maria, an acoustic duo.

1. How did the duo form?
   Out of love!  We met at a new year party.  Scott was playing the song Mister Jones by Counting Crows that had a Spanish dancer called ‘Maria’ in it, and the rest is history.  Playing music together came a little later.
2. How would you describe your music?
   We play upbeat and soulful acoustic music, full of harmony and feeling.  We’ve both got an eclectic mix of influences from folk and soul and jazz through to drum and bass, so there’s plenty of variety in our sets.  Maria has recently started playing the cajon live, and this has added a bigger sound and a more upbeat party feel to the music.
3. You’ve recently released your debut album, how did that come about?
   Although we’d played together for years, we’d never recorded anything together so we wanted to get some of our tracks down.  Initially we planned it to be a 5 track EP, but we found that after relocating from North London to Brighton we were so full of inspiration that we wrote a full albums worth of material by the time we got into the studio.  So the album is a mix of 5 or 6 early songs and another 9 or 10 new ones.
   We finished the album in January 2017, and we’ve now got a bunch of new tunes so we’ve booked to start recording again.  We’re planning an EP with new music videos, but who knows it could end up as a full album again!
4. We see you play a lot of gigs, what are they like?
   Most of the gigs we play are in the bustling and supportive Brighton scene.  We play regular open mics and showcase nights around the city.  They’re generally quite intimate, and everyone we’ve met in the Brighton music scene has been really welcoming.  We regularly play alongside amazingly talented artists that have become our friends since we’ve moved down here.We’ve also been very fortunate to play a few outside of Brighton – the highlight last year was the Rhythm Tree Festival on the Isle of Wight (highly recommended for anyone looking for a brilliantly run small family-friendly festival).  This year we’re really excited to be playing on the Channel Islands for a festival on Sark (which has no motorised vehicles) and our first London gigs since we moved down.
5. What do you think of the Brighton live scene?
   It’s a fantastic scene in Brighton.  There are so many incredibly talented artists, so many beautiful people, and a decent number of generous souls that dedicate much of their life to putting on music for local artists.  We’ve felt so welcomed and supported and inspired by the people we’ve met here.  There is a genuine spirit of collaboration and collectiveness rather than competition.  Having lived all over the UK, this is probably the best music scene either of us have experienced.